LILONGWE (IPS)—From his small office in the remote district of Mchinji, Christopher Chiumia can now surf the Internet and conduct dialogue with friends around the world. Mr. Chiumia, who is an environmental officer, has described the experience as "magical." Other potential rural users are also being connected in Mangochi, a remote district on the shores of Lake Malawi, to the information superhighway, thanks to a new Internet service provider called the Malawi Sustainable Development Network Program (SDNP).

The SDNP, which began operating on July 26, is part of a global initiative by the UN Development Program to help developing countries build their own Internet capacities.

"We want people, particularly local communities, to access and exchange information on development issues in the fastest and easiest manner possible,’’ said SDNP director Paulos Nyirenda.

"Apart from international experience, we want people to share national information, which will be mounted on the national server,’’ he said.

With its headquarters located in Malawi’s main commercial city of Blantyre, the network has already mounted regional routers, and nodes in six of the country’s 27 districts. According to Mr. Nyirenda, SDNP will complete work on dial-up connections and start providing full Internet services throughout Malawi in six months.

Apart from full Internet services, SDNP is also providing supporting services such as "training, server facilitation, conferences and distance education."

It will also collaborate with development partners like non-governmental organizations (NGO’s) to extend Internet services to needy groups who might have problems in obtaining them.

"We want more and more people to use computer-mediated communications," said Mr. Nyirenda.

Since Internet was introduced in Malawi about five years ago, the country has had only one service provider—Malawinet.

Although there is substantial demand for on-line information, many more companies and individuals have been reluctant to get connected because of high service charges.

Malawinet has about 2,500 subscribers—which translates to one Internet user per every 4,000 Malawians, slightly better than Africa’s (except South Africa) average of one user per 5,000 people.

The world average is one Internet user for every 40 people, which is even far behind the average of one Internet user per every 3-6 people in most countries in North America and Europe.

Malawinet charges $50 as initial set-up fee and a monthly commercial fee of $20 minimum–very high for a population whose nominal per capita income is only $220.

"It would be much better if we had more Internet service providers, but the licensing fees are too high for potential investors," said computer technician Janet Banda, who is based in Lilongwe.

Malawi has 65,000 telephone lines of which only 36,000 work—about 0.3 telephone lines per 100 people. Of the 36,000 lines, 28,000 are accessible by 2.4 million people in urban areas, while the remaining are shared by over 7.5 million users in rural areas.

"I normally surf the Internet in the evening or during weekends, and it’s worth it considering the amount of communication and connectivity between users and providers of information," said Mr. Chiumia.

"I am convinced Internet is vital for sustainable development. It’s a must for local communities to get connected, otherwise we will continue to lag behind," he says.

Watipaso Mkandawire, general manager of Malawi Investment Promotion Agency (MIPA), said Malawi will not attract real investment in the new millennium unless the majority of its people are oriented to modern information technologies.